The State Of The Tenor (Vol. 2 / Live At The Village Vanguard/1985)

by Scott Yanow In a set that begs comparison to Sonny Rollins's famous Village Vanguard recordings of 1957, tenor-master Joe Henderson performed with a similar pianoless trio, using bassist Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster. On the second of two LPs, Henderson explores lesser-known songs by Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver and Charles Mingus, a Charlie Parker blues ("Cheryl") and two of his own originals. Alfred Lion, founder of Blue Note, stated at the time that he believed the first volume of this series was one of the best ever made for Blue Note. The second volume is at the same explorative and exciting level. Joe Henderson fans are advised to pick up both sets, which have since been reissued on CD.